Less than 24 hours after recording a crucial win against one of the top teams in the East on national TV at Kia Center, the Magic nearly ran out of gas against one of the worst teams in the conference.

Facing the 16-win Wizards on the second night of a back-to-back, Orlando needed overtime to extend its season-long winning streak to six games after it took down 40-win Cleveland the night prior.

The Magic squandered a 19-point lead in the second half, allowed Washington to score 42 points across the final 12 minutes of regulation and required late-game heroics from Jalen Suggs to escape at home against the Southeast Division opponent.

But nevertheless, Jamahl Mosley‘s squad found a way to win in overtime, 136-131, while playing its fourth game in six nights.

“I think (it’s) very important in these games to recognize that we are not robots and that it’s real,” said Suggs, who scored a team-high 28 points. “And fatigue is real, physically and mentally. Especially at the end of the year, it takes a lot to come out and play these games on top of playing a young team who’s going to get it.

“For us, it took a full group effort to get a win and being locked in down the stretch and taking all their punches because I mean, they were throwing haymakers, and they were knocking down shots,” he added. “I think it showed great resilience, just kind of staying with it, not getting too out of it. Because, to be honest with you, we could have (given) them that game. And we could’ve lost that a couple of times. We stayed with it, hit big shots and kept it pushing.”

One of the biggest shots came from Suggs with 1:27 remaining in the extra period. Between his late 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, the Magic guard scored the final five points of the night to secure his team a victory.

The Magic needed each and every point not only from Suggs but also Tristan da Silva (who scored a career-high 26), Desmond Bane (22), Wendell Carter Jr. (19) and Paolo Banchero (18) in order to win.

Orlando’s starting quintet scored 113 of the team’s 136 points when the team improved to 3-2 in overtime games this season. The Magic improved to 8-0 when scoring 130-plus points and 8-2 when playing in the second game of a back-to-back.

“Just another day in the NBA,” Banchero said in the locker room after the game. “That’s all I’ll say about that. But good win.”

The win kept the Magic (37-28) fifth in the East entering Friday’s slate of games and in a virtual tie with No. 6 Miami (38-29), who hosts them Saturday. Just one game back is No. 7 Toronto, and 2 1/2 games behind sit No. 8 Atlanta and No. 9 Philadelphia.

Orlando last won six games in a row from Nov. 21-Dec. 1, 2024, but it’s not the only team listed above that’s gone streaking as of late.

The Heat have won their last seven and the Hawks their past eight. Elsewhere in the Southeast, No. 10 Charlotte has won two in a row and is 8-2 in their last 10.

“We’ve just got to keep it rolling,” Banchero said.

Saturday’s game in Miami marks the fifth meeting of the regular season between the Heat and Magic, the latter of whom have won the first four. Orlando also took down Miami twice in the preseason.

Something’s got to give with both teams on respective winning streaks heading into Saturday night at Kaseya Center.

“We’ve just got to come out with a fight, right attitude and get ready for a 48-minute fight,” Banchero said. “They’ve been playing really well. So, this should be a good game.”

The Magic are aware they’ll have to be sharper against a stronger opponent in Miami after allowing 52 points in the paint, being outscored 23-10 in fast-break scoring and turning the ball over 13 times against Washington.

Including their last matchup on Jan. 28, the Magic have gone 14-6 in their last 20 games and the Heat 13-7.

Orlando will be without Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain), Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management) and Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain) on Saturday.

“This game (Thursday) was kind of a reality check, too,” da Silva said. “You’ve got to be locked in every single time you’re on the court, and I feel like in stretches we didn’t do a really good job of that. If you do that against a team that has momentum and feels good about themselves, it can cost you the game.

“We’ve just got to come out and play our style of basketball, make sure that we know what we’re doing, and then I feel like we have a shot against any team in the league.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic at Heat

When: 8 p.m., Saturday, Kaseya Center

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida/CW18